In the oil and gas industry, and specifically near drilling or servicing rigs, tubular members are often stored horizontally on pipe racks. Such pipe racks are relatively near the ground, and substantially below the rig floor. Therefore, such tubulars must be transported to the rig floor joint by joint for use in drilling or servicing operations.
Commonly, automated pipe handling systems are utilized to transport tubulars from a pipe rack and present the tubular at the proper elevation and angle for convenient and safe use by rig floor personnel. Such pipe handling systems are commonly available from rental companies or from well servicing or drilling companies.
While many variations of such pipe handling systems exist, no mobile system currently exists which can allow for coordinating the movement of a tubular to a rig floor, threadably engaging the tubular with a power swivel, and for lifting the tubular to a vertical position.
Currently, separate pipe handling and power swivel systems must be bought or rented, requiring two hauls to the rig site and taking up two equipment spaces at the rig site.
A need exists, therefore, for a pipe handling system in conjunction with a power swivel to provide a compact and space saving solution, a rapid and safe pipe handling solution, a rapid and safe power swivel attachment solution, and a simple and reliable solution with minimal downtime.
The present disclosure meets these needs.